The present invention relates to an improvement in continuous casting molds for measuring clamping force on the mold sidewalls, and a method of adjusting the size of such improved molds.
Continuous casting molds typically have two opposed pairs of sidewalls, one pair serving to clamp against the other, maintaining a fluid-tight joint therebetween. The clamping forces which are initially set by a workman may vary during the casting operation due to thermal loading. Also, the usual mechanical arrangements for setting clamping forces may be subject to variations caused by human error. Molds which have adjustable sidewalls are in some cases subject to having excess strain exerted on the clamping mechanism due to thermal loading. Also excessive clamping force may be applied as a safety factor when one clamping mechanism is used for all mold sizes.
It is therefore a primary object of this invention to provide an apparatus for measuring clamping force on the walls of continuous casting molds.
It is another object of this invention to provide a method for adjusting the size of continuous casting molds utilizing apparatus for measuring the clamping force exerted on the mold walls.